Fresh-Food Deliveries to Rural Areas in Kia PV5s ... Service Expands from Uiseong to Sunchang

[Financial News] Kia's rural fresh-food delivery service, for which the company provides dedicated vehicles and operational infrastructure, has expanded from Uiseong County in Gyeongsangbuk-do to Sunchang County in Jeonbuk State.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 9th that it held a launch ceremony for the Sunchang County Fresh-Food Delivery Service in Sunchang County, Jeonbuk State, on the 6th. Attendees included Jin Myeong-gi, director of the ministry's Local Innovation Office; Jeonbuk State Administrative Vice Governor Lee Ji-seong; Sunchang County Governor Choi Yeong-il; Kia executive Lee Duk-hyun; and Green Umbrella head Sin Jeong-won.
The project is part of the Cooperation Agreement for Responding to Local Extinction, signed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Kia last March. The initiative, which began in Uiseong County, Gyeongsangbuk-do, has been expanded to Sunchang County to ease the difficulty of buying groceries in rural areas and improve access to everyday services.
Kia is providing the dedicated PV5 vehicles needed for fresh-food deliveries, along with operational infrastructure, using the Rural Coexistence and Cooperation Fund. Green Umbrella and local social and solidarity economy organizations are responsible for delivering fresh food and operating the service. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Sunchang County are supporting the development of delivery infrastructure and related projects.
In Uiseong County, where the project was launched first, deliveries were made 1,660 times to 112 villages through September this year, and the number of users was tallied at 10,003.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to review the service's performance in Sunchang County and resident satisfaction, among other factors, before expanding the project to other depopulating areas.
The plan is to develop the initiative beyond simple food delivery to include job creation in partnership with local social and solidarity economy organizations, as well as everyday care services.
Jin Myeong-gi, director of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Local Innovation Office, said, “I hope this service, now expanded to Sunchang County, will help ease residents' everyday difficulties and breathe new vitality into the region,” adding, “We will actively support the spread of this public-private partnership model to more depopulating areas so residents can enjoy basic everyday services wherever they live.”
[email protected] Lee Bomi Reporter